My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

British Druid chief Arthur Pendragon is running for a seat in parliament as an independent candidate. Pendragon’s platform is one focused almost solely on the issue of Stonehenge.

“A Druid chief has announced his intention to stand in the next general election to fight what he describes as the “disgusting neglect” of Stonehenge. King Arthur Pendragon, titular head and chosen chief of the largest independent Druid order in Britain, will stand as an independent candidate in the Salisbury constituency and take on the mainstream political parties. He is campaigning for the construction of the E510 million A303 Stonehenge road tunnel, which, he says, is the only way to protect the ancient monument and was backed up by a lengthy public inquiry in 2004.”

Pendragon has run for a seat in parliament four times previously, there isn’t any polling data so I can’t make any predictions if the fifth time will be the charm.

A group of North Carolina Pagans are getting “barbarous” in defense of a magnolia tree that is scheduled to be cut down by developers.

“Reaction to the potential loss of a single magnolia tree has left developer Stewart Coleman baffled. “It’s one tree,” he said Monday after hearing a group of Wiccans plan to cast spells to save it. “More than 40 trees – including six flowering cherries – have been destroyed for the park construction.” … But Wiccan priestess Dixie Deerman of Coven Oldenwilde in Asheville says the line has to be drawn somewhere, and this is it. Deerman, also known as Lady Passion, has invited Pagans, Wiccans and others to encircle the tree Friday evening and chant spells to protect it, “and Barbarous Words of Power to thwart the developer.” Wicca, also known as Paganism, is a faith that worships nature.”

The developer has offered to have the tree moved to a different location, though the shock of moving the tree may kill it, and questions the logic of Lady Passion in her spirited defense of this magnolia tree.

“Coleman said he doesn’t understand why people are so upset when developments outside downtown are destroying many more trees. ‘If I were to develop 40 homes … say, on a ridge top, how many trees would have to come down?’ he said ‘And you would need to build roads and water lines. It would be a lot worse.’”

But I guess you can never tell what your radicalizing moment will be, for Lady Passion it is the cutting down of that single tree. One hopes this is only the tentative start for a more involved life of environmental activism.

A British mother who is serving a life sentence for smothering her infant son is bringing litigation against the prison for not allowing her a ritual drum.

“I am a Shamanic pagan. I do not believe in violence. I have respect for all life and individuality. This prison, like many others, has an unwritten policy of pagan persecution. I have been refused and denied possession of religious items. I have faced hostility and disregard over my religious practices and festivals, and I have encountered bullying from inmates and staff due to my faith. I am not abusive to staff or inmates. So why should there be so many difficulties facing me? Either some members of staff see me as a threat because of my perceived intelligence, or they see me as a threat because they do not understand the way I choose to live my life.”

Leaving aside the bitter irony of a mother who killed her son (for refusing to breastfeed) saying she “respects” all life, prison officials don’t seem too keen to give her a drum, claiming that prison is a place of correction not recreation. So I guess we’ll soon see where the line in the UK regarding access to religious items will be drawn.

SperoNews, a Catholic-run news agency, reports on the persistence of paganism in Armenia and attempts to hint at dire political consequences if such behavior continues.

“At Garni, pagan priests placed sacrificial knives in fire, as well as rose petals in earthenware jugs of water, before reading aloud from the Ukhtagir, a collection of pre-Christian folk stories and legends immortalizing Armenia’s pagan gods written by Slak Kakosian, the founder of the Pagan Covenant, one of Armenia’s main pagan organizations. Founded in 1990, the group now claims it has over 1,000 members. In the group’s events, nationalism and paganism mingle equally. “We are pagans,” said 43-year-old Zohrab Petrosian, Kakosian’s successor. “We are Armenians, but we don’t know our true religion. Simply lighting a candle in a church or wearing a cross around our necks does not make us Christian. I’ve been a member of this organization for 10 years, but as an Armenian I’ve been pagan since the day I was born.” At the Garni Vardavar observances, one of the highest-profile attendees was Armen Avetisian, leader of the ultra-nationalist Union of Armenian Aryans, who received a three-year suspended sentence in 2005 for inciting racial hatred against Jews.”

You see, if any racists show up to your gatherings, then this must be the beginnings of a new fascism! But participants in the rituals don’t quite see it that way.

“Armenian pagans tend to dismiss the concern, though. Many at the Garni observances said politics wasn’t a factor for them … The hordes of children drenching pedestrians and motorists with water usually overshadow any such quests for meaning on Vardavar. Even so, Armenia’s pagans might take comfort in the fact that torrential rains unexpectedly hit Armenia at the festival’s end on July 15. As the rain poured down in the days that followed, one can only wonder if Astghik wasn’t listening, after all.”

No doubt Spero will keep looking for proto-fascists everywhere except in the mirror.

That is all I have for now, have a good day!

Acclaimed film director Ingmar Bergman died today at the age of 89. Bergman is perhaps most famous for his existential masterpiece “The Seventh Seal”, and his life-affirming tale of love and repentance “Fanny and Alexander”.

Liv Ullmann with Ingmar Bergman in 1968.

“I want to be one of the artists of the cathedral that rises on the plain. I want to occupy myself by carving out of stone the head of a dragon, an angel or a demon, or perhaps a saint; it doesn’t matter; I will find the same joy in any case. Whether I am a believer or an unbeliever, Christian or pagan, I work with all the world to build a cathedral because I am artist and artisan, and because I have learned to draw faces, limbs and bodies out of stone. I will never worry about the judgment of posterity or of my contemporaries; my name is carved nowhere and will disappear with me. But a little part of myself will survive in the anonymous and triumphant totality. A dragon or a demon, or perhaps a saint, it doesn’t matter!” – Ingmar Bergman

For Pagan film buffs he will be fondly remembered for his classic take on the uneasy co-existence between Christianity and paganism “The Virgin Spring”.

“Based on a ballad of that era [13th c] by Ulla Isaksson, it’s both one of the more unusual and accessible of Bergman’s pictures. Tore (Max von Sydow) is a lord who, with his wife Mareta (Birgitta Valberg) is a recent convert to Christianity, with different degrees of devotion. Their teenage daughter Karin (Birgitta Pettersson) is both devout but also somewhat vain and flighty. When she insists on wearing an elaborate dress to take candles on an overland journey to the local church, she attracts the attention of several herdsmen (Axel Dyberg and Tor Isedal) and their younger broher (Ove Porath). They rape and murder Karin, stealing her garb, under the observant eyes of her adopted sister, Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), a pagan worshipper of Woden, who brought a curse down upon Karin. But the herdsmen make the mistake of coming to Tore’s home and attempting to sell Karin’s dress, triggering an outraged paroxysm of vengeance.”

Bergman’s films have influenced directors as diverse as Woody Allen, Wim Wenders, and Wes Craven, and his penetrating observations about faith and doubt were groundbreaking.

“Bergman was the first to bring metaphysics – religion, death, existentialism – to the screen,” – Bertrand Tavernier

Bergman was one of the great modernist filmmakers, and because of his vision, the art of film-making is a richer and more thought-provoking medium.

The excellent blog “Religion Clause”, which focuses on legal developments concerning religion, has posted two stories today that should be of special interest to modern Pagans (and other minority faiths). The first concerns the release of transcripts from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about the precarious status of minority religions in post-Saddam Iraq.

“This year the Commission added Iraq to its Watch List of countries requiring close monitoring because of the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by their governments. We made the decision because of the alarming and deteriorating religious freedom conditions for all Iraqis … influencing our decision to place Iraq on our Watch List are the grave conditions affecting minority religious groups in Iraq, including the ChaldoAssyrian Christians, Yazidis, and Sabean Mandaeans. These groups appear to suffer a degree of attacks and other human rights abuses disproportionate to their numbers. As a result, thousands of members of Iraqi religious minorities have fled the country, seeking refuge in neighboring states and among growing Diaspora communities in the West.”

Of the three groups pointed out in this hearing, two have ties to gnostic or pre-Christian beliefs and practice. The Sabean Mandaeans are a dualistic gnostic sect that considers John the Baptist to be their primary prophet, while the Yazidi are adherents to a pre-Islamic faith who revere “The Peacock Angel” Melek Taus. Both are facing extreme persecution, kidnappings, rapes, murders, and the very real possibility of elimination from Iraq.

“More than 80% of the Mandaean community has been displaced from Iraq to Syria and Jordan. The Mandaean community has dwindled to less than five (5) thousands today.”

Several recommendations were given by those giving testimony, but it remains to be seen if the already over-stressed military presence in Iraq will be able to make any substantive changes in conditions. Perhaps America can relax its immigration policy for persecuted groups within Iraq, taking in those who have no place to go.

The second story concerns the passing of a bill through both houses that enacts several recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Included in that bill is something known as the “John Doe Amendment” which protects people tipping off the authorities to potential terror suspects from litigation if their suspicions turn out to be unfounded.

“Any person who, in good faith and based on objectively reasonable suspicion, makes or causes to be made, a voluntary report of covered activity to an authorized official shall be immune from civil liability under federal, state and local law for such report.”

What are “objective” and “reasonable” suspicions? According to the case that inspired this amendment it includes dressing like a Muslim, praying publicly, and requesting seat-belt extensions. One can only imagine how this new legal immunity will be used by those not truly acting in “good faith”, or by those who see terrorists in anyone not dressing or acting like them. If you have been wearing ritual garb at the airport in the past, you might want to think twice about doing it in the future.

Remember the controversy last week over a small group of Christian protesters interrupting the first Hindu to give the opening prayer in the US Senate? Well it seems that American Hindu groups aren’t satisfied with Harry Reid’s defense of the religion, and are asking all the presidential hopefuls to denounce the Christians involved in calling chaplain Rajan Zed an “abomination”.

“U.S. Hindu organizations are urging presidential candidates to denounce the protesters who disrupted the Senate as the first-ever Hindu opening prayer was being delivered this month … Although the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington issued a statement July 17 saying its members were “deeply saddened” by the interruption, no senators present spoke out against it publicly, according to the Hindu American Foundation and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Both organizations said they are disappointed with the legislators, and they sent letters this week to presidential candidates and senators, asking them to condemn the incident.”

So if you were wondering which candidate (from either party) is going to be the most receptive to the rights of minority faiths, here is the moment of truth. With the three Democratic front-runners embracing their Christian allegiance as hard as they can, will any of them dare to defend conceptions of the divine that go beyond the Abrahamic norms? Will Republican candidates stay utterly silent for fear of further offending the already dissatisfied conservative Christian voting bloc that are especially influential during the primaries? I’ll be watching the news to see where those of who check “other”* on religious surveys can place our trust (at least regarding this issue).

* There are over eight million “others” in American now, including a million modern Pagans, approximately two million Hindus, close to four million Buddhists, hundreds of thousands of Native American practitioners, 60,000 Taoists, and close to a million Santerians.

Ah reality television, that fly trap for those who think they should be famous but lack any appreciable skill for achieving those goals on their own. This insatiable Warholian industry thrives on dysfunctional and driven personalities who lack the self-awareness that they are merely fodder for an increasingly indifferent viewing audience. Sadly, our faith community has been hard-hit by this faux-reality spectacle, and many are the appearances of these often ill-prepared spokespeople for our faiths. So it should surprise no one when I tell you that yet another Pagan has entered the fray.

David from the British version of the “Big Brother” show.

“The Big Brother [UK] housemates have spent time with ‘halfway housemate’ David, as they get to know the five new arrivals. The 25-year-old Scot – who claims to be a witchcraft-practising pagan – was given a rapturous welcome by the current housemates – with Liam recognising him from the audition he had attended. “Is there any alcohol?” he asked before settling down with the housemates for a drink and a chat … he told the others that he predicted through pagan rituals that he would be joining the housemates on Big Brother.”

I think the whimsical eye-makeup and leopard-print scarf is a nice touch don’t you think? Gives an air of the “exotic” to modern Paganism. This isn’t the first time that the British reality program Big Brother has put a Pagan into the mix, but she didn’t last long. So it remains to be seen if David’s powers of prediction will hold true and he’ll join the main household for more than just a visit. This latest Pagan appearance all feeds into my theory that Pagans and Witches (especially Witches) have become just another stock character for those casting reality television. Which I suppose could mean that we have truly entered the mass-consciousness (and therefore the “mainstream”) of modern culture.

For some better news (at least in my opinion) concerning television and paganism, they have finally released a complete DVD set of the classic 70s television show “Isis”.

“The live-action show, created as a glamorous complement to hunky Captain Marvel on “Shazam!,” featured gorgeous JoAnna Cameron as Andrea Thomas, a high school science teacher who went on an Egyptian archaeological dig and discovered an ancient amulet — which she kept, of course, like any good tourist — that gave her incredible mystical powers courtesy of the goddess Isis.”

Here is a refresher on YouTube in case you may have forgotten (or were too young to see it when it was on television). Look at all that majesty!

Due to family obligations I’ll be away from a computer for most of the day, but I thought I’d leave you with two stories involving the law and modern Pagans that I felt deserve a second look. The first is from Caspar City, Wyoming and involves a local Wiccan and metaphysical store owner’s attempt to get a anti-fortune-telling ordinance struck down.

“Nella Forest, owner of the metaphysically inclined Pan’s Grove store, attended a recent council meeting to express concern about Rule 9.36.010, a consumer protection law in the municipal codebook that penalizes anyone who profits from propheting. It keeps her from charging for tarot card readings, a key aspect of Wiccan religion, she said. “These are willing parties coming to get tarot readings,” she said. The City Council will discuss whether the law should come off the books or not at a 4:30 p.m. work session, which will be held at Casper City Hall.”

Laws concerning fortune telling have been big news lately. You had the psychic wars in Salem, the controversial crack-down on psychics in Philadelphia, and recent Biblically-motivated laws in Louisiana against fortune-telling. Since divination is big money-maker (and a spiritual practice that is taken very seriously) within the Pagan community, expect more clashes over old antiquated laws and newer morality-driven ordinances in the future.

The second story involves another common legal theme involving the Pagan community: religious speech within public schools. This time it is a controversial new law in Texas that allows students “spontaneous” religious expression without interference from school officials.

“The third new law, dubbed the Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act, has superintendents nervous as they figure out how to implement it in the coming weeks. It requires public school districts to adopt policies specifically allowing spontaneous religious expression by students. A so-called model policy included in the law states that upperclassmen who are student leaders — such as student council officers, class officers or the captain of the football team — should be designated as speakers. The law does not address concerns that such a selection process could wind up leaving out minority faiths. ‘This mandate is going to create a collision of ideas that should really take place outside of the school,’ Superintendent Richard Middleton of North East Independent School District said. ‘Our lawyer fees are going to go up because of this.’”

But like all pre-religious laws that conservatives seem to pass, they mean “Christian” expression, and the notion of Pagan expression can often derail these efforts.

“If a kid on the football team expresses a religious message that is not in keeping with everyone in the room, will there be protests? That school principal will have to deal with that,” Woods said. “What if someone wants their time to respond then and there? If we allowed a Christian to express a religious viewpoint, and then a Wiccan wants equal time, how could we prevent them from doing the same?”

The fact that these conservative groups don’t seem so freedom-loving when Pagan religious expressions in school happen proves that these laws are agenda-laden and have nothing to do with expanding everyone’s freedoms. But they keep coming up, and Pagans (not to mention other religious minorities) seem to always intrude on their careful plans to put “God” back into the schools.

What cases like these (and others) prove is that while modern Pagans aren’t big enough to matter in big-time political races or when making national policy, we do matter quite a bit in the world of litigation and the courts (especially concerning religious freedom). Can a robust and serious Pagan-run law advocacy and support group be long in coming if this climate continues?

Earlier this month I thought I had posted the last chapter in the ongoing custody case involving a SubGenius mother and her son. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua, who had her affiliation with the satirical Church of the SubGenius used against her in court, had lost her appeal for custody and was awaiting a hearing on visitation rights so she could see her son. Then, a week ago, some truly bizarre events took place that would shake up this new status quo and has (temporarily) given custody of her son back to her.

“For legal reasons, I obviously can’t go into too many details, because there are other parties involved in this. Basically, some time last week, Jeff was in a car accident involving a brick wall, a lot of alcohol, and another passenger – NOT MAGDALEN’S SON, praise “Bob.” Because of past incidents involving him and at least one other DUI, he is now facing at least two felonies, a misdemeanor, and three traffic charges – which, combined, could land him in jail for up to eleven years. All of this means that, due to the sudden extreme circumstances, Magdalen has temporary custody of her son at this time. There will be a new custody hearing in the middle of August. Jeff’s criminal hearing will be in September, but that is an entirely different matter.”

Even stranger is the fact that the judge on the new custody hearing is none other than Judge Punch, the same judge who recused himself after coming under fire for his fixation with the Church of the SubGenius and for calling Bevilacqua a “mentally ill” pervert. But it seems like Punch is looking at things a bit differently this time around.

“He literally took the case out of Judge Adams’ docket and inserted himself in. He is now handling the case once again, however because of everything that has happened, he is apparently viewing the case in an entirely different light.”

At this point Bevilacqua is hoping to pursue both this new custody case and appeal the ruling that keeps her from having SubGenius materials in her home (except for a locked “office”). But to do that she’ll need more funds, so if you are interested in supporting her in either case you can donate to her cause, here (or here to donate directly through Paypal). Considering all this recent craziness perhaps a certain pipe-smoking divine figure has been invoked after all. Needless to say more updates will follow as I get them.